All the Easter Eggs You Might Have Missed in Black Mirror Season 4

This post contains spoilers for Black Mirror Season 4.

Second only to its love for bleak endings is Black Mirror’s adoration for Easter eggs. The series frequently ties its installments together with small nods to episodes past, and Season 4 is no exception. Each episode in Netflix’s new season is chock-full of sneaky references and quiet cameos—including one from Kirsten Dunst. It’s nearly impossible to catch them all, so check out the roundup below for the tiny moments you might have missed.

“USS Callister”

This Star Trek-inspired episode might have spent its flashiest moments poking fun at an old franchise, but it also planted some of the season’s quietest little details—including the biggest-name cameo in Black Mirror history. Kirsten Dunst, who happens to be engaged to episode star Jesse Plemons, appears in the background of the real-world office where Robert Daly works during the middle of the episode. Meanwhile, Plemons’s old Breaking Bad co-star Aaron Paul makes a cameo that was a little more widely noticed: he shows up at the very end of the episode for a quick voice-over spot as gamer691, the troll who tries to harass the newly freed Callister crew.

Even the casting of episode co-star Michaela Coel, who plays a colleague Daly imprisons and eventually turns into a hideous space monster, serves as a callback of sorts: Coel previously appeared in Black Mirror Season 3’s “Nosedive” as an unhelpful airline employee who helped usher in the demise of Bryce Dallas Howard’s protagonist, Lacie.

And finally, you might have noticed that Daly drinks Raiman-brand milk—the same name as one of the soldiers seen in “Men Against Fire,” whose family owned a farm.

“Arkangel”

Although it features only a few callbacks to other episodes in the series, the specific installments “Arkangel” references seem very deliberate. The frightening footage Sarah sees during the Arkangel demo actually came from the previous Black Mirror episode “Men Against Fire”; it’s the scene in which “Hunter” Raiman fires on the so-called “roaches.” “Men Against Fire” was about soldiers’ vision being manipulated in order to help them unwittingly commit horrific acts more easily; perhaps that episode was foreshadowing for what could come of tampering with Sarah’s ability to see gruesome things.

The central premise of the episode—a brain implant used for various forms of monitoring—is also very similar to the Season 1 episode “The Entire History of You,” which features a product known as a “grain” implant with a similar interface. It didn’t end well in “Entire History of You,” and it doesn’t end well here, either. And then there’s one last, slightly less poignant Easter egg: a poster for the fictional rapper Tusk can also be seen in Sarah’s room. As Decider observes, Tusk is a character from “Hated in the Nation,” in which he became the subject of ire after insulting a fan. (Unsurprisingly, he wound up dead.)

“Crocodile”

Although not everyone loved this installment, it does feature perhaps the funniest Easter egg of the season—in which Charlie Brooker and his team decide to name-check some of their most ardent fans.

As [IndieWire notes, the hotel’s porn collection includes a special called Best of Wraith Babes—the same show on which Abi ends up performing at the end of Season 1’s “15 Million Merits.” Additionally, the song “Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand),” used in several Black Mirror episodes—starting with “Merits”—can be heard in this installment as well.

The truck that hits the man as Mia watches from her window happens to be a Fences Pizza delivery truck—the same company from which Robert Daly orders his pizzas in “USS Callister.” And finally, when Rob hands Mia an article about the man they killed 15 years ago, it is briefly visible on screen—and one paragraph appears to be a bit . . . idiosyncratic. As one Redditor noticed, it reads: “Of course the real question is why anyone would pause what they’re watching just to read a sentence in a printed out newspaper article’, says a voice in your head – before advising you to go and share this finding on Reddit.” Well played.

“Hang the DJ”

There only appears to be one link between “Hang the DJ” and the rest of the series, but it’s a strong one: the dating app used in the episode seems to be the same app briefly shown in Season 3’s “Playtest.” It’s also the same app viewers briefly saw Elena use in “USS Callister.”

“Metalhead”

There aren’t really many intertextual references in this episode either, but it does start with a conversation about missing pigs. So.

“Black Museum”

Although “Black Museum” is one of this year’s less popular episodes, it does contain by far the most references to other episodes, spanning back to the series’s first season—perhaps an unsurprising distinction, given the title.

Carlton Bloom, who committed suicide in Season 1’s “The National Anthem,” can be seen among the collection’s macabre entries, along with a photo of Victoria Skillane, the protagonist of “White Bear.” “15 Million Merits,” which starred Get Out’s Daniel Kaluuya, gets a shout-out in graphic-novel form. The robotic bees from last season’s “Hated in the Nation” also make a small cameo among the episode’s creepy exhibitions.

There are also callbacks to the current season inside the museum, including the Arkangel tablet Sarah beat her mother with at the end of that Jodie Foster-directed episode, as well as the DNA scanner that Daly used to replicate his co-workers in “USS Callister.” Oh, and that bloody bathtub from “Crocodile” makes an appearance as well. The charging station is called “BRB Connect”; it hardly seems coincidental that “BRB” is an acronym for “Be Right Back,” otherwise known as the saddest episode Black Mirror will ever make.

Westworld (Season 2)

HBO is once again hoping you’ll ignore the big Game of Thrones-shaped hole in its schedule and turn your attention back to the sci-fi mind game that is Westworld. The Emmy-nominated series, starring Evan Rachel Wood and Thandie Newton, is ready to confound you once again in its second season. Until its spring 2018 premiere, take a trip back in time and revisit nine burning questions we still have about the finale.

Photo: By John P. Johnson/HBO.

Grown-ish

Yara Shahidi takes the lead in this youthful Black-ish spin-off set to air on Freeform starting Jan. 3, 2018. In this series, Zoey is finally off to college, stumbling through cringeworthy rites of passage like embarrassing herself at a frat party and hiding secrets from her parents.

Photo: By Eric Liebowitz/Freeform.

Superhero Smorgasbord

Every superhero you love is coming out with a new movie in 2018. In no particular order, get ready for a bounty that includes: Black Panther,Avengers: Infinity War,Deadpool 2,The New Mutants,X-Men: Dark Phoenix,Ant-Man and the Wasp,Venom, and Aquaman.

The Winter Olympics

’Tis the season to watch a bunch of perfect human specimens fight for tiny gold medallions. This year’s Winter Olympics will kick off on Feb. 9, 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Photo: By Julian Finney/Getty Images.

The Chi

After breaking out on Master of None and winning a historic Emmy for one of this year’s best TV episodes, Lena Waithe is ready to claim her spot in the prestige-TV realm. Enter The Chi, her Showtime series about young people coming of age in Chicago, set to premiere on Jan. 7.

Photo: By Matt Dinerstein/SHOWTIME.

A Wrinkle in Time

The classic Madeleine L’Engle tale is finally coming to the big screen on March 9, 2018, thanks to Disney and director Ava DuVernay. The sci-fi story about a girl tesseracting her way through time to find her missing father will star newcomer Storm Reid alongside stars like Oprah Winfrey,Mindy Kaling,Reese Witherspoon, and Chris Pine.

Photo: By Atsushi Nishijima/Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios.

Solo: A Star Wars Story

After some catastrophic ups and downs, Han Solo’s origin story will finally be revealed to us on May 25, 2018. The Star Wars spin-off stars Alden Ehrenreich as the galactic smuggler and also features Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian and Emilia Clarke playing a mysterious character named Kira.

Photo: From Lucasfilm Ltd./Everett Collection.

Westworld (Season 2)

HBO is once again hoping you’ll ignore the big Game of Thrones-shaped hole in its schedule and turn your attention back to the sci-fi mind game that is Westworld. The Emmy-nominated series, starring Evan Rachel Wood and Thandie Newton, is ready to confound you once again in its second season. Until its spring 2018 premiere, take a trip back in time and revisit nine burning questions we still have about the finale.

By John P. Johnson/HBO.

Grown-ish

Yara Shahidi takes the lead in this youthful Black-ish spin-off set to air on Freeform starting Jan. 3, 2018. In this series, Zoey is finally off to college, stumbling through cringeworthy rites of passage like embarrassing herself at a frat party and hiding secrets from her parents.

By Eric Liebowitz/Freeform.

Superhero Smorgasbord

Every superhero you love is coming out with a new movie in 2018. In no particular order, get ready for a bounty that includes: Black Panther,Avengers: Infinity War,Deadpool 2,The New Mutants,X-Men: Dark Phoenix,Ant-Man and the Wasp,Venom, and Aquaman.

The Winter Olympics

’Tis the season to watch a bunch of perfect human specimens fight for tiny gold medallions. This year’s Winter Olympics will kick off on Feb. 9, 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

By Julian Finney/Getty Images.

Black Klansman

If the title alone doesn’t catch your eye, the artists behind it surely will. Spike Lee is directing this thriller, produced by nascent horror maestro Jordan Peele, about a black detective who infiltrates the KKK in the 1970s. John David Washington (son of Denzel) plays the lead, while the rest of the cast includes Adam Driver and rising star Laura Harrier.Black Klansman does not yet have a release date.

Left, by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic; Right, by Kevin Mazur/WireImage.

The Incredibles 2

This superhero movie, which hits theaters on June 15, 2018, gets its own slide—because fans have been waiting for this sequel for 13 years. At long last, the Parr family is back fighting crime, with a little help from close friend Frozone (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson). It’s time to find your supersuit—and remember, no capes!

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios.

The Happytime Murders

Brian Henson’s (son of Jim) dark detective twist on the pleasant world of puppetry promises to be a baffling pop-cultural delight in the vein of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Humans and puppets coexist in this dark tale about a serial killer who’s out to murder the stars of hit 80s series The Happytime Gang. The cast is stacked with comedy stars, led by Melissa McCarthy,Maya Rudolph, and Elizabeth Banks. The film will hit theaters on Aug. 17, 2018.

Jessica Jones (Season 2)

Everyone’s favorite grouchy, hard-drinking superhero is finally back for a second season on March 8, with Krysten Ritter slipping on the familiar leather jacket for Jones’s latest adventures. Though the plot is still fairly under wraps, a teaser trailer promises that she’s still a sardonic and deliciously violent destroyer of men.

By Myles Aronowitz/Netflix.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

My, my, how can you resist this? The sequel to the 2008 blockbuster musical is finally on its way, and it’s already guaranteed to be your favorite guilty pleasure of 2018. The story is a prequel to the original, revolving around Meryl Streep’s character when she was a young woman (perhaps even . . . a young dancing queen). Not only is its core cast back in action, but the truly iconic Cher has decided to bless the sequel with her presence. Catch it in theaters on July 20, 2018.

Roseanne

Break out your flannel and sarcasm, because Roseanne is back. The classic 90s sitcom is getting the nostalgia reboot treatment on March 27, more than 20 years after it first ended.

From ABC.

Ocean’s 8

The all-female Ocean’s 11 reboot is easily one of the most anticipated films of the year, not least because of its excellent cast (Rihanna!Sandra Bullock!Cate Blanchett!). The glitzy heist movie revolves around the Met Gala, promising a coterie of celeb cameos, and is slated to hit theaters on June 8, 2018. Satiate yourself until then by re-watching the perfect trailer.

By Barry Wetcher/Warner Bros.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace

We may be in the midst of a true-crime revival, but few productions promise to be as opulent as this Ryan Murphy mini-series. The horrifying true story about the murder of fashion icon Gianni Versace will be retold with a stellar cast that includes Édgar Ramírez as Versace himself, Penélope Cruz as his sister Donatella, and Ricky Martin as Versace’s partner, Antonio D’Amico.

By Jeff Daly/FX.

The Chi

After breaking out on Master of None and winning a historic Emmy for one of this year’s best TV episodes, Lena Waithe is ready to claim her spot in the prestige-TV realm. Enter The Chi, her Showtime series about young people coming of age in Chicago, set to premiere on Jan. 7.

By Matt Dinerstein/SHOWTIME.

A Wrinkle in Time

The classic Madeleine L’Engle tale is finally coming to the big screen on March 9, 2018, thanks to Disney and director Ava DuVernay. The sci-fi story about a girl tesseracting her way through time to find her missing father will star newcomer Storm Reid alongside stars like Oprah Winfrey,Mindy Kaling,Reese Witherspoon, and Chris Pine.

By Atsushi Nishijima/Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios.

Solo: A Star Wars Story

After some catastrophic ups and downs, Han Solo’s origin story will finally be revealed to us on May 25, 2018. The Star Wars spin-off stars Alden Ehrenreich as the galactic smuggler and also features Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian and Emilia Clarke playing a mysterious character named Kira.